Research has been conducted to address the environmental issues of cleaner engine exhaust and reduction of sulfur and contaminants in fossil fuels. Bunker oil is a high viscosity residual oil, left over after distillation of gasoline and diesel. One aspect of the present invention is to avoid the present practice of heating bunker oil from the time the oil is pumped from its source until it is used. The present invention liquefies bunker oil without heating or chemicals and substantially reducing the major contaminants found in bunker fuel oil, namely, sulfur.
Since 2014, the shipping industry is facing challenges to meet the strong regulations regarding low sulfur emissions for ships. Bunker oil is a waste product of traditional fuel oil that is too thick for vehicles and small ships to burn efficiently. Bunker oil has a relatively high sulfur content. Bunker is a more economical power source for large ships with medium and slow speed diesel engines and power plants.
Bunker fuel oil is a high-viscosity residual oil which is typically blended with lighter fuel. Bunker oil requires preheating to 220° F.-260° F. (104° C.-127° C.) for pumping or transport from source to burner. The term “residual” refers to material remaining after the more valuable cuts of crude oil have been boiled off or distilled away. The residue may contain various undesirable impurities including two percent water and one-half percent mineral soil. This fuel is sometimes called “residual fuel oil” (“RFO”), by the Navy specification of Bunker C, or by the Pacific Specification of PS-400.
Bunker fuel degrades slower than standard fuel oil and produces a mixture of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and other pollutants when burned. Due to these ill-effects, bunker fuel oil is replaced by gas-oil in a number of instances. The bunker oil market is expected to experience a downturn due to strict regulations imposed by governments of most countries for limiting the use of bunker fuel oil there by increasing the cost of these companies to do business.
Bunker fuel is a type of liquid fuel which is fractionally distilled from crude oil. When crude oil is refined, the lighter petrochemical fractions (gasoline, kerosene, diesel, etc.) are removed by distillation. The heavier materials in crude petroleum are not distilled, mainly because the boiling points are too high to conveniently recover the heavier distillates. These heavier materials (asphaltenes, waxes, very large molecules, etc.) carry through refining and become residual oil (or residual). During various operations in the refinery, principally heating at high temperatures, rearrangement of molecules may take place forming even larger molecular materials that have still higher boiling points. These materials also become part of the residual. Finally, contaminants in the crude that are not distilled from the crude and will be carried over to the residual. This includes any salts (chemical elements that are typically soluble in water), sediment (oil-wetted solids), and the heavy organic molecules from various sources. Just as salt water leaves a residue of salt behind when it evaporates, so too does the refining process leave solids behind when the lighter materials are removed.
Before selling residual as bunker fuel, a refiner will very often dilute it to meet various sales specifications for trace metals, sulfur and/or viscosity. This process costs approximately $40.00 USD/barrel. An average refinery will produce 500 thousand to 1.4 million barrels of bunker per day.
An opportunity arises if one can control sulfur in bunker oil and/or decrease the cost of handling and transport of bunker oil thereby creating a paradigm shift in the oil refinery industry. Bunker oil costs are rising faster than crude oil prices. In the 2014 marketplace, shipping companies were focused on reducing their bunker oil costs. Freight prices have fallen while bunker oil costs have risen, at times exceeding 50 percent of total operational costs, and bunker oil prices have become “extremely volatile” as crude prices fluctuate. Bunker oil prices have risen more than crude oil prices because the chemical industry has moved refinery capacity away from bunker production to fill a demand for high-distillate products.
Environmental regulations, including a growing number of Emissions Control Areas (“ECA”s) created by the International Maritime Organization (“IMO”), have forced companies to meet the requirements of 0.1% to switch to the use of more expensive low-sulfur fuel, exhaust gas scrubbing and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Also the IMO requires that all vessels have a Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan by Jan. 1, 2015 which has increased focus on fuel management. Another factor in the cost of fuel oil is company management of procurement, consumption, and efficiency measures. Performance varies widely. For example, one study found that bunker consumption among participants fluctuated by as much as 30% within any given vessel class. To improve fuel efficiency, companies must move beyond slow steaming and improved bunker oil procurement methods and develop teams and disciplined methods to address the issue. A recent Bloomberg analysis predicted that fuel oil demand will hit its highest point ever over the next 2 years, putting more pressure on shipping companies.
TABLE IFuel Oil SpecificationsCutoffsQuality featureUnitLU L-ILU L-IILU S-ILU S-IILU T-ILU T-IITesting methodsa)Flash point° C.above60.070.080.0HR EN ISO 2719ASTM D 93Kinematicmm2/s 6.0-20.0——HR EN ISO 3104viscosity:2.0-6.06.0-26.026.0-45.0ASTM D 445at 50° C.ASTM D 7042at 100° C.Total% m/mmax1.02.01)1.02.81)1.03.01)HR EN ISO 8754sulfurHR EN ISO 14596contentb)ASTM D 2622ASTM D 4294Water% v/vmax0.30.51.0HR ISO 3733contentASTM D 95Sediment% v/vmax0.51.01.5HR ISO 3734and waterASTM D 1796contentCarbon% m/mmax81518HR EN ISO 10370residueHR ISO 6615contentASTM D 189ASTM D 4530InferiorMJ/kgmin414039HR ISO 8217calorificASTM D 4868valueASTM D 240Ash% m/mmax0.150.200.20HR EN ISO 6245contentASTM D 482Pour point° C.max304050HR ISO 3016ASTM D 97
Table I provides the proscribed limitations on fuel oil. Bunker fuel oil typically falls under the “LU S-I” and “LU S-II” groups. As shown, the kinematic viscosity at 50° C. and at 100° C. is 6.0-26.0. The total sulfur content is between 1.0-2.8. There is a pour point of 40.
TABLE IIDistillate bunker oil specificationsCutoffsQuality featureUnitDMXDMADMZDMBTesting methodsa)Kinematic viscosity:mm2/smin1,4002,0003,0002,000HR EN ISO 3104at 40° C.a)max5,5006,0006,00011,000ASTM D 445Density at 15° C.kg/m3max—890.0890.0900.0HR EN ISO 3675HR EN ISO 12185ASTM D 1298ASTM D 4052(see 5.5)Cetane indexmin45404035HR EN ISO 4264ASTM D 4737Total sulfur contentb)% m/mmax1.001.001)1.502.00HR EN ISO 8754HR EN ISO 14596ASTM D 2622ASTM D 4294(see 5.7)Flash point° C.min43.060.060.060.0HR EN ISO 2719ASTM D 93(see 5.6)Hydrogen sulfidec)mg/kgmax2.002.002.002.00IP 570Acid numberc)mgmax0.50.50.50.5ASTM D 664KOH/gTotal sediment content -% m/mmax———0.1e)HR ISO 10307-1hot filtrationASTM D 4870IP 375Oxidative stabilityg/cm3max25252525f)HR EN ISO 12205Carbon residue content% m/mmax0.300.300.30—HR EN ISO 10370(10% residue of “% v/v”)ASTM D 4530Carbon residue content% m/mmax———0.30HR EN ISO 10370ASTM D 4530Cloud point° C.max−16———HR EN ISO 23015ASTM D 2500Pour point° C.max−6−6−60HR ISO 3016(superior)d)max0006ASTM D 97Winter qualitySummer qualityAppearanceclear and transparente)f)g)Visually(see 5.8 and 5.9)Water content% v/vmax———0.30e)HRN ISO 3733ASTM D 95Ash content% m/mmax0.0100.0100.0100.010HRN EN ISO 6245ASTM D 189Lubricity (wear scarμmmax520520520520g)HRN EN ISO 12156-1diameter,, wsd °1.4)at 60° C.h)
Table II provides the proscribed distillate bunker oil specifications. This data is provided for reference when comparing the results of the tests performed on the bunker oil treated with the ionizing core of the invention.
TABLE IIIResidual bunker oil specificationsQualityCut-RMARMBRMDRMERMGRMKTestingfeatureUnitoff103090180180380500700380500700methodsKinematicmm2/smin10.030.090.0180.0180380500700380500700HR EN ISOviscositymax3104at 40° C.a)ASTM D 445Densitykg/m3max920.0960.0975.0991.0991.01010.0HR EN ISOat 15° C.3675HR EN ISO12185ASTM D 1298ASTM D 4052(see 5.5)Aromaticitymin850860860860870870Calculatedindex CCAI(see 5.15)Total sulfur% m/mmax3.504.004.504.504.50HR EN ISOcontent b)8754HR EN ISO14596ASTSM D 2622ASTSM D 4294(see 5.7)Flash point° C.min60.060.060.060.060.060.0HR EN ISO2719ASTM D 93(see 5.6)Hydrogenmg/kgmax2.002.002.002.002.002.00IP 570sulfide c)Acid numberc)mgmax2.502.502.502.502.502.50ASTM D 664KOH/gTotal sediment% m/mmax0.100.100.100.100.100.10HRN ISOcontent - by10307-2aging(SEE 5.10)Carbon residue% m/mmax2.5010.014.0015.0018.0020.00HR EN ISOcontent10370ASTM D 4530Pour point° C.max0030303030HRN ISO(superior)d)° C.max66303030303016Winter qualityASTM D 97Summer qualityWater content% v/vmax0.300.500.500.500.500.50HRN ISO3733ASTM D 95Ash content% m/mmax0.0400.0700.0700.0700.1000.150HRN EN ISO6245ASTM D 462
Table III provides the proscribed residual bunker oil specifications. This data is provided for reference when comparing the results of the tests performed on the bunker oil treated with the ionizing core of the invention.